“The April construction employment numbers reflect the continued impact of the construction industry on the economy throughout the country,” said Bernard M. Markstein, Ph.D., president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC. “Reflecting this strength, unemployment rates in April were lower compared to a year ago in all states with the sole exception of Mississippi. This was only the second time in the history of these state estimated construction unemployment rates that rates fell in every state but one on a year-over-year basis. The previous time was in March of this year.”

Because these industry-specific rates are not seasonally adjusted, national and state-level unemployment rates are best evaluated on a year-over-year basis. The monthly movement of the rates still provides some information, although extra care must be used in drawing conclusions from these variations.